Auto Careers of the Future

Since the 2008 stock market crash, the North American automotive industry has had to work hard to redefine itself. The result? Some exciting new changes, which mean that young people today interested in pursuing automotive careers have a lot to look forward to.

Jobs in automotive repair

One reported effect of the aforementioned economic slowdown: North Americans have been keeping their vehicles for longer. Older vehicles require more repairs. This means that one of the auto careers with the greatest growth potential may be automobile repair.

Another reason that this may be one of the most promising auto careers is that it is increasingly becoming the domain of a trained professional, rather than of a driveway hobbyist. As car technology goes electronic, auto certification and training becomes more important. In this day and age, you really have to know what you are doing to make any headway under the hood of a car!

As concern grows about rising oil prices and depleting fuel stocks, there is a demand for clean auto technology, which, in turn, means a demand for technicians with the proper auto certification to provide servicing. New electric car technology presents an interesting opportunity.

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Jobs in automotive design

These exciting new green automotive technologies donât just come out of thin air. Engineers invent them. As the automotive industry struggles to retain relevance, professionals with auto certification in auto design are more important than ever. They have to develop new, cleaner technologies, e.g., zero emission vehicles.

There are other trends affecting automotive careers in auto design. For instance, the race is on to invent the self-driving car. Driver-assist systems that help drivers parallel park are a precursor to this kind of technology that some predict will soon take the industry by storm.

New modes of car ownership, new auto careers

Technicians with auto certification may find employment opportunities with a kind of employer that did not necessarily exist fifteen or twenty years ago: the car sharing services that are now on offer in most major urban centres.

Auto technicians who seek out these kinds of auto careers may benefit from taking some manufacturer-specific training after completing their regular mechanic courses. Most car share fleets consist of one make of car, and an auto technician who specializes in the preferred make could have a real edge on other applicants.

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Emissions inspector

One of the automotive careers said to have the most growth potential is emissions inspection. Many state and provincial governments are expected to step up emissions inspection programs in the coming years. Inspectors visually inspect vehicles before submitting them to a series of tests, using a variety of techno tools, including a kind of treadmill for cars. It is their job to test for hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides.

The North American auto manufacturing industry may have suffered a slowdown in recent years, but facing adversity has forced it to revolutionize, leading to exciting new possibilities in automotive careers.